Right-wing populist party New Zealand First has announced a new policy to restrict voting to citizens, amid growing concerns about the influence of minority voting blocs.
NZ First leader Winston Peters unveiled the proposal at a packed public meeting in Warkworth on Sunday afternoon where he called the country’s unusual election rules problematic, and later described the crowd as “very supportive”.
“[Non-citizens] can vote on who the government is, they can vote on who the local council is, they can even vote in referendums that would fundamentally change the social fabric of our society. Is this what we really mean by democracy in our country?” he said.
Under current law, permanent residents can vote in parliamentary and local elections if they have lived in New Zealand continuously for a year or more and their visas do not require them to leave within a certain time period.
New Zealand is among only five countries to allow non-citizens to take part in federal elections, alongside Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Malawi.
Mr Peters said voting rights should be reserved for people who have “sworn allegiance” to New Zealand and made a lifelong commitment to the country.
“If you haven’t made that commitment or sworn that allegiance, we are happy to let you live here permanently, but why should you get a say in how this country is run or governed?” he said.
“New Zealand First will restore the basic democratic principle that the right to decide New Zealand’s future belongs to New Zealand citizens.”
He said his party wanted to make the distinction between citizens and permanent residents “matter again”, calling citizenship “the formal bond of allegiance, belonging, responsibility, and democratic authority”.
The policy announcement comes ahead of a visit to New Zealand by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and controversy over the influence of ethnic and religious voting blocs.
Christian leader Brian Tamaki last week said the seizure of his hunting rifles, after he was reported for comments about mass immigration, was proof that minority lobby groups were able to dictate government and police policy.
The raid came after Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Buddhist groups issued a joint “election ultimatum” to the country’s major parties demanding new policies on “hate” and “social cohesion” in response to Mr Tamaki’s calls for an immigration “purge”.
Header image: Left, Winton Peters. Right, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and India’s Narendra Modi (Facebook).
